Finding the right university for both tennis and the best education can be the most important decision in a student-athlete’s career. There are no guarantees you will find the perfect fit in both areas. It’s very important to weigh out your options. For example, decide first if you are looking for a program that’s going to aide you in improving your game, if so, do a ‘background check’ on the coach. Find out what kind of relationship he or she has had with past players. Rarely will you find a coach at the lower ranked schools that spends a lot of time working to improve a players technical skills, but he or she might be a good motivator, which can be a huge asset if you arrive with a solid base in your game.
If you are looking to go Division I and you have the ranking to back it up, there are more talented coaches out there (in my opinion) than we have had in the history of college tennis. Coaches such as Bryan Shelton, women’s coach at Georgia Tech and Mario Rinson, men’s coach at University at Miami, just to name a few. These coaches are building players not just programs. However, the majority of you should, and are thinking education first. It is very important that you don’t limit your options, remember, the coach is looking out for his or her job, so they might have their own reasons for not giving you a scholarship or helping you get in to the school.
Move on and start the process early. If you wait to long it could be too late. Make a long list, make a video and continue to be persistent, eventually you’ll find what you are looking for and the best fit for you.
Tip: Meet with your high school counselor frequently and be realistic about where you can get in with your grades.
Photo: Celsius Athlete André Johnson (class of 2015) elected to attend Division 1 Georgia Southern University on a tennis scholarship and study Marine Biology.
The individual nature of tennis combined with the physical and mental demands of the sport demonstrate a strong correlation to academic performance and place tennis high in recruitment interest and admissions from the top colleges and universities. Many Celsius athletes have been awarded scholarships and/or greatly improved their options to attend their college or university of choice, including the top Ivy league schools and other leading colleges and universities including:
• Harvard University
• Brown University
• Columbia University
• Princeton University
• Boston College
• Georgetown University
• Johns Hopkins
• Penn State
• American University
• Wake Forest
• Syracuse University
• University of Miami
• University of Florida
• Florida State
• Ohio State University
• Georgia Tech
• Georgia Southern
• University of Illinois
• Indiana University
• University of California
• University of Virginia
• University of Massachusetts
• Gonzaga University
• Tulane
• NYU
